A Woman's Paris ~ Joie de Vivre

Arnaud de Rambures was born in 1986 in La Réunion, a French Island in the Indian Ocean. At age 18, Arnaud began his career in the humanitarian field and founded an organization dedicated to schools and libraries in Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa. In the city of Saponé, a town in central Burkina Faso, the organization built an elementary school and library. The organization continues to develop new schools and to the support of children of Burkina Faso.

In 2006, following his graduation from business school in Paris, Arnaud worked with an American company to develop sales of cardiac surgical devices in France and Africa. After several years he decided to leave the medical device field and focus on artisanal work. The work of the skilled artisan has been devalued more and more over the past several years and Arnaud embraced the challenge to make it a different experience. His idea was to focus on the difference between the artisans’ work and that of the industrial workers.

The work of the artisan, for Arnaud, is a combination of love and passion—the major difference that allows him to create and innovate new products—encouraging ongoing feedback from his clientele. A graduate of the French Institute of Baking and Pastry (Institut National de la Boulangerie Pâtisserie) in Rouen, France, he decided to jump to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean to bring a new experience to the Twin Cities. Arnaud is 26-years-old and very involved in his two bakeries and their neighborhoods; the original bakery in located in Maple Grove, MN, and the newest bakery in White Bear Lake, MN, which opened in 2011.Visit: Chez Arnaud, The French Bakery: (Website)

INTERVIEW

AWP: Name the books and movies, works of art and music, fashion or cuisine that have inspired you.

ADR: My favorite cookbooks would be by Pierre Hermé (PH10) and Gerard Mulot; two older pastry chefs who have always moved forward to create better products and better flavors. They brought their passion to the top of what anyone could expect—and they are still bringing dreams to many people by the experiences they share and by the modernism and techniques they develop every day.

On a personal side, Le Petit Prince, by Saint-Exupéry has always marked my existence by its vision of life, loyalty, love and respect!

AWP: What is the best (or worst) advice you’ve ever given or received?

ADR: Never forget your dream, and never stop fighting for it! When you want, you can!

AWP: What handed-down wisdom did you receive from your mother or father?

ADR: My parents always pushed me to understand the value of work and involvement. Things don’t show up in your life if you don’t fight for them! Never expect a return. It is what you do that will make you stronger, not the return you would expect.

AWP: In your youth, what did you imagine your adult life would hold? What influenced this vision?

ADR: I have always been excited about growing up. I couldn’t wait for my life to start! I wanted more than ever to walk in my own direction and prove to myself that I could reach my dream. I originally thought I would get married and have children before the age of 23… and be a pilot! The years have made me realize that I would get bored in a cockpit all day long. I wanted to get my professional career started so that I could really dedicate my attention and my time for the one who would be in my heart.

AWP: In your early teens, what formed your romantic fantasies of adventure and love?

ADR: I actually shared most of my times with girls when I was younger! I never liked soccer and I always thought that boys were immature.

AWP: What were your favorite childhood things to do?

ADR: My favorite hobby was to build small aircrafts so I could make them fly! I started with airplanes made of paper, then, wood and epoxy. I would spend hours every day piloting them because I was not yet of the age to pilot a real one. For me, it was a way to look at the sky and enjoy this liberty that no one could touch.

I was also involved in artistic photography. I was lucky to travel a lot and my favorite thing was to capture on paper the feelings, faces and stolen smiles of my journeys. It was a way to remember that whatever the environment and wherever the country, whether the people were rich or not, happiness could always subsist!

AWP: What nourishes your passions?

ADR: The idea of being able to create something different and innovative. I feel like I am never getting to the final point—that this is just an improvement, a trial to reach for the best!

AWP: How did you get your foot in the door at the beginning of your career?

ADR: Things are not always easy when you are young. You have to prove to the people around you that they made the right choice to believe in you. I always started by accomplishing small tasks, so people could give me the chance to do more the next time.

PERSONAL STYLE

AWP: Was being stylish important to you growing up in your teens? Is it now?

ADR: No, it has actually not been that important in my childhood. My parents were not fashion oriented at all. They educated us in a simple environment so we could better understand what really matters in our life.

Today, my vision has evolved a little. Fashion is a way to define an atmosphere, an environment. If you want to attract people’s attention, you have to create the atmosphere they are looking for.

CUISINE

AWP: Tell me about your cooking and eating habits and traditions.

ADR: I was born between two universes: the Indian meals from my Mauritian mother and the French habits of my father. From these two universes, I kept a big space for spicy meals and also for typical French dishes like Cassoulet, Tartiflette or Raclette; and, of course, some good crêpes for busier moments. Family lunches are a hit since it is the best way to gather together brother, sister, parents, cousins and uncles or aunts! The meal is even more intense when you share it with the right people!

AWP: What was your most memorable meal to date?

ADR: A pique-nique in Sonoma Valley on a delightful June day in 2011 under the California sun with wine, Ciabatta bread, some organic products, a long time friend and the sunshine of my life! It was most memorable because we realized that we didn’t need anything else than what we had to be happy!

AWP: What is in your refrigerator right now?

ADR: Foie Gras, French cheeses and cold meat. A good way to remember my family and friends living in France and cultivate my French roots!

ART OF LIVING

AWP: What do you live for? What do you love above all?

ADR: My admiration comes from people who always strive for more. Life is short, so life deserves that we live it at 200%! Every single person on earth has his or her weaknesses and strengths. Never stop when you believe you did enough, but always strive for the best of yourself. Passionate people are the ones who make you move forward, they are the one who makes you believe everything is possible.

AWP: What natural gift would you most like to possess? What talent are you most thankful for?

ADR: I am happy the way it is. I am thankful for everything I have so far. But, I wouldn’t say that I have a specific talent.

AWP: What question are you tired of being asked?

ADR: Why I moved to Minnesota to open my bakeries!

You may also enjoy A Woman’s Paris® post, Boulangerie Poilâne: A toast to French Breads, by Barbara Redmond who shares her face-to-face encounter with a French baker during her visit to the 18^th century ovens of Poilâne in Paris. Could she steal a pinch from the raw, soft-white boule in its proofing basket resting close by? The penetrating aromas of bread; strong, yeasty, and hot… Recipes included for Tartine Chocolat et Poivre (tartine of melted chocolate and black pepper) and La tartine For’bon (tartine of cheeses and ham) from Boulangerie Poilâne.

French Women Chefs: les mères lyonnaise, by French writer Laurence Haxaire who tells the stories of former house cooks of affluent families in Lyon who set up their own businesses after the French revolution in the 19th century. And later, when their reputation reached beyond the edge of Lyon, the most famous of them even welcomed such well-known people as General de Gaulle as a VIP at their table.

French Cuisine: Cooking schools in Paris founded by women, by Barbara Redmond who writes about extraordinary women who cook: from Anne Willan, Marthe Distel, and Elisabeth Brassart, to “Les trios gourmands,” Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle. Including a directory of cooking schools in Paris.

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times… for French Food, by Canadian writer Philippa Campsie who explores the threats to French food traditions. Endangered raw-milk Camembert and French baguettes, and meanwhile, the ados flock to McDo (translation: adolescents eat at France’s many McDonalds outlets). And yet… French chefs seem to be getting more innovative every year and the movement known as “Le Fooding” is winning converts.